President Barack Obama is calling attention to companies that have brought jobs back to American soil, offering it up as another way of putting people back to work.

The White House plans to hold a forum on Wednesday called “Insourcing American Jobs,” which will bring together business leaders who have brought jobs back to the United States. The president said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address that the forum will discuss ways business leaders can return more jobs to the country.

Additional Photos

FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2011 file photo, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. First lady Michelle Obama is a behind-the-scenes force in the White House whose opinions on policy and politics drew her into conflict with presidential advisers and who bristled at some of the demands and constraints of life as the president's wife, according to a detailed account of the first couple's relationship. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File) FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2011 file photo, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. First lady Michelle Obama is a behind-the-scenes force in the White House whose opinions on policy and politics drew her into conflict with presidential advisers and who bristled at some of the demands and constraints of life as the president's wife, according to a detailed account of the first couple's relationship. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File) Associated Press

FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2011 file photo, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. First lady Michelle Obama is a behind-the-scenes force in the White House whose opinions on policy and politics drew her into conflict with presidential advisers and who bristled at some of the demands and constraints of life as the president's wife, according to a detailed account of the first couple's relationship. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File) FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2011 file photo, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. First lady Michelle Obama is a behind-the-scenes force in the White House whose opinions on policy and politics drew her into conflict with presidential advisers and who bristled at some of the demands and constraints of life as the president's wife, according to a detailed account of the first couple's relationship. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File) Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - In this July 18, 2011 file photo, President Barack Obama shakes hands with former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray after announcing his nomination to serve as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. Senior administration officials tell The Associated Press that President Barack Obama will use a recess appointment to name Richard Cordray on Wednesday as the nation�s chief consumer watchdog despite steep Republican opposition. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) AP

President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Sasha and Malia arrive on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, in Washington. The first family was returning from their family vacation to Hawaii. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari) President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Sasha and Malia arrive on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, in Washington. The first family was returning from their family vacation to Hawaii. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari) Associated Press

President Barack Obama participates in a wreath laying ceremony at the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 29. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President Barack Obama participates in a wreath laying ceremony at the USS Arizona Memorial, part of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Associated Press

“We’re heading in the right direction. And we’re not going to let up,” Obama said on the heels of the government reporting Friday that the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent in December.

Obama noted that the jobs report showed the economy added more than 200,000 private sector jobs last month and that more than 3 million private sector jobs had been added during the past 22 months. He said the nation was “starting 2012 with manufacturing on the rise and the American auto industry on the mend.”

The president said the U.S. couldn’t return “to the days when the financial system was stacking the deck against ordinary Americans,” citing his decision to install former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as the director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau while the Senate was on break, circumventing Republican opposition to the appointment.

Obama said his “New Year’s resolution” to all Americans was to “keep doing whatever it takes to move this economy forward and to make sure that middle-class families regain the security they’ve lost over the past decade.”

Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-N.Y., delivering the GOP address, said the jobs report showed the difficulty that many Americans face in finding work. Hayworth said the unemployment rate has remained above 8 percent for 35 straight months, “the longest such stretch since the Great Depression.”

“Leaders in Washington should have no higher priority this year than getting our economy back to creating jobs,” Hayworth said.

The New York congresswoman said House Republicans would promote small business and reduce government regulation.